Anti-rattle door latch



Aug. 16, 1955 o. o. GOULD 2,715,542

ANTI-RATTLE DOOR LATCH Filed D60. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 m; 4 Wm &@M r w Gm 0 F H S M n n o Y 2 2 B 0 w f6 5 & A V M 6, 1955 o. o. GOULD2,715,542

ANTI-RATTLE DOOR LATCH Filed Dec. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OTIS O.GOULD INVENTOR v United States Patent ANTI-BATTLE DOOR LATCH Otis 0.Gould, Portland, Oreg., assignor of one-half to Wayne C. Harrigan,Seattle, Wash.

Application December 29, 1952, Serial No. 328,398

6 Claims. (Cl. 292--341.15)

This present invention relates to the general class of door latches andwhile it may be used for any type of door or gate it is particularlyadaptable to automobile doors due to the fact that it is both silent andsecure in its locked position. This door latch consists essentially of asliding detent which engages a grooved cam cut in the outer surface of aroller which is revolvable and is mounted with its axis parallel to themovement of the detent at the time the door is closed.

Many types of door latches have been conceived, usually each latch beingdesigned with some particular purpose in mind. In this present instancethis door latch is particularly adapted to doors and automobiles, or onboats where vibration is more or less constant and where it is desirableto insure maintaining the door in a closed position at all times. Inthis present invention the rotary lock movement is held against the boltor detent, by spring action, which tends to rotate the bolt and thefinal locking is secured on a slight reverse inclined surface so theclosure tends to seat more fully under conditions of vibration and thissame characteristic enables the same to compensate for wear orparticularly for the crushing, through use, of the various sealing meansused on many of the automotive doors.

The principal object of this present invention therefore is to provide adoor latch which is very simply constructed and in which the lockingmember is resiliently held in position so that there will never be anyslack developed and thus a rattle-proof latch is provided.

A further object of this invention is to provide a doublesloped groovedcam so arranged that the locking bolt can, with very little pressure,operate the rotary lock member, and when the limit of rotation isachieved, the bolt descends on a steeply pitched surface which provideslocking security without coming to the bottom of the possible travelexcept under conditions of extreme wear so that a long life can beexpected from this latch.

A further object of this mechanism is to provide a latch mechanism thatis certain in operation and which can be opened with the minimum ofapplied efiort.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple latchmechanism that can be used under all the various conditions where it isdesired to latch a door.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from thedescription and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended orare inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an automobile showing thegeneral location of the components of the present latch member when inuse;

Figure 2 is a typical horizontal sectional view through a latchmechanism as believed to be most suitable for use on automotiveequipment;

Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views illustrating the normalsequence of engaging this latch and showing it in its final lockedposition;

2,715,542 Fatented Aug. 16, 1955 Figure 7 is a perspective viewillustrating the rotary lock member;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the rotary lock member butillustrating the opposite end from that shown in Figure 7, and showing atypical face-plate housing in dashed lines;

Figure 9 is a perspective view illustrating a door casing, partly insection, employing this invention and showing the external portions ofthe face-plate and how it is adapted to a conventional door as used inhousing; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, showingthe locking bolt and turn-knob units as mounted on a door and as used inconjunction with the door framing of Figure 9.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, thenumerals it and 12 designate respectively the lock bolt and the rotarylocking member which con stitute the principal parts of this presentdoor latch mechanism. The bolt 10 is normally provided with spacedbearings as 14 and 16 which insure the axial positioning of bolt 10 andprovide the necessary means for guiding the same as it is reciprocatedalong its axis during the unlocking operation. The bolt preferably isurged outwardly as by means of compression spring 18 and is seatedagainst bearing 14 on some cushioning member as the fiber washerindicated at 19. Some convenient means is employed to retract the boltwhen it is desired to unlatch or unlock the mechanism. One fonn of thisdevice is illustrated in Figure 2 in which a bell crank 22 is disposedupon a fixed pivot 24 and operated by a springback push button 26,button 26 thus actuating the bolt by means of the spaced pins 21. Thisis normally employed in conjunction with some form of handle as thatillustrated at 28 so that the door 30 after being unlatched may beconveniently opened. It will be apparent, it is believed, if this latchmechanism is employed on house doors and the like that any of thevarious turn knob mechanisms 31, as illustrated in Figure 10, generallymay be employed.

Mounted fixedly Within the body framework, or the door frame in the caseof a building, is the housing member 32. Vithin the housing 32 isprovided a lined bearing for an axle or pin 34 and upon this pivot ismounted the rotary lock member 36. Member 36 may be made of any suitablematerial and a preferred form is illustrated in Figures 2, 7, and 8. Itis to be noted that it is generally cylindrical in form, having thegrooved cam 38. Grooved cam 38 is of a size to accept the end of bolt20. It has been found desirable under certain circumstances to provide aroller engaging member as 40 secured on the end of bolt 20 so thatfriction may be reduced to a minimum. It will be noted from the variousviews, particularly in Figures 3 through 6 that groove 38 is angularlydisposed with respect to the generating line of cylinder 36.Consequently as the end of bolt 20 engages groove 38 and as bolt 20 isfixed, except for its ability to reciprocate along its axis, theresultant action is to revolve member 36 about pin 34. The revolving ofmember 36 is resisted to a degree by some form of spring action. InFigure 8 a convenient arrangement is shown in that a tension spring 42is employed. This spring is anchored at one end to 2. lug 44 formed aspart of housing 32 and its other end is secured to an outstanding detentor post 46 which is fixedly secured to member 36 and preferably projectsoutwardly through an arcuate slot 48 formed in one Wall of housing 32.In this manner a convenient limiting means is provided so that the outerend 50 of groove 38 will always be accurately positioned for thereceptionof bolt 20.

It will be noted in'Figures 3 and 4 that the movement of bolt 40 to theright, as viewed, has revolved memis commonly found in automotive typeof doors.

3 ber 36 partially as roller 40 progresses up through groove 38. Finallyroller 40 passes over the peak 52 of the cam'surface and descends downthe inclined lock surface Itis to be understood in this operation'thatactually bolt 20 is fixed in its horizontal position and apparentmovement of roller 40 with respect to the Figures 3 through 6 is causedby the rotation of the lock member 36, first by the camming action ofdetent 20 and finally by action of spring 42. The position shown inFigure 5 is probably the most desirable lock position for this latchmechanism when newly installed and ,modate the latch to all normal wearover an extended period and also to take care of any permanent set thatmay occur in the packing or sealing strip as 56 which Such a strip isusually of rubber or some rubberlike material which has a dual functionof sealing the opening ,so that tight engagement of the door and frameis not necessary, it acts as a cushion in the closing operation, andfurther prevents rattling which is so common when vibration or roadjolts occur. The exact angle of surface 54 is normally a matter ofdesign to suit the intended use and is somewhat a function of theoperating conditions and strength of the spring employed to revolvemember 38. Experience has shown that the best 7 results are obtained innormal operating conditions with Method operation f Assuming that thedoor upon which this mechanism is employed is open, it Will be foundthat spring 18 has positioned the extreme end of bolt 20 outwardly sothat it extends beyond the door face 60; When the door is closed andbegins to meet its complementary frame, the outwardly extending end ofbolt 20 is engaged in groove 38 which is in eifect a grooved cam. Thissequence of operations shown in Figures 3, 4, and takes place as thedoor is pushed into the closed position. As bolt 20 is fixed about itslongitudinal axis the action is to revolve the rotarymember 36 untilfinally bolt 20 reaches the descending locking surface 54 and comes torest. In this position the spring 42 of course is tending torotatemember 36 'so that the bolt would tend to go further down onsurface 54. It is arrested in thismovement however by the compression ofthe sealing strip 56m in the case of a door frame in a building, by thedoor stop member 62. Whilein use on automobile doors the compression ofsealing strip 56 may allow the bolt 20 to come to rest at the bottom ofcam surface 45, as shown in Figure 6, which is the neutral or startingposition of roller 36.v In a household door however the resilientsealing strip is not present andthe door is in tight contact with thedoor step 62 when the bolt and roller are in the relationship shown inFigure 5. In this position the roller 36, is partially rotated so thatthe outer end 50 of groove 38 is below the slot in housing or coverplate 32 which in eifect closes it off. When it is desired to latch themechanism and maintain it in its locked po- 4 sition. It thereforefollows that both the closing and opening of this locking mechanism canbe operated With a very minimum of elfort, the principal effort beingrequired in unlocking is the compression of spring 18 which again can berelatively light.

it is believed that it will be clearly apparent. from the abovedescription and the disclosurein the drawings that the inventioncomprehends a novel construction of an anti-rattle door latch.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim: l. A movable keeper for adoor latch positioned in one or" the two abutting members consisting ofthe closing edge portion of a door and the adjacent jamb and the otherabutting member havinga bolt, comprising: a lock housing positioned insaid one abutting member having a bolt-receiving groove in its facehaving'an open entrance end at the edge of said jamb which the boltapproaches in closing; a substantially cylindrical rotary locking memberjournaled in said housing to rotate about a horizontal axis which isnormal to the longitudinal axis of said bolt, said rotary member havinga locking groove in its face which has an open entrance end coincidingwith the entrance end of said housing groove in a first position, springmeans biasing said rotary locking member toward 'said first position andstop means preventing rotation of said locking member past said firstposition by said spring means, said locking groove being L-shaped withafirst leg portion extending from said open entrance forming an acuteangle with the line of generation of the member and having a secondlegportion forming an acute angle with the adjacent end portion of therotary member,-

axis which is parallel to the face of the jamb, said rotary memberhaving a locking groove in its face which has an open entrance endcoinciding with the entrance end of said housing groove in'a firstposition, spring means biasing said rotary locking member toward saidfirst position and stop means preventing rotation of said locking memberpast said first position by said spring means, a said locking groovebeing L-shaped with a first leg portion extending from said openentrance forming an acute angle with the line of generation of therotary member and having a second leg portion forming an acute anglewith the adjacent end portion of the rotary member, whereby in closingsaid door a bolt in the door may ride along said first leg portionrotating said rotary member against said spring means and then be caughtbehind said second leg portion. a V

3. A door latch keeper positioned in a jamb adjacent the closing edgeportion of a door, comprising a'rotary locking member journaled insaidjamb to rotate about a horizontal axis which is parallel to the faceof the jamb, said rotary member having an L-shaped locking groove in itsface forming first and second leg groove portions and spring meansbiasing said rotary member toward a first position, said first andsecond leg portions 7 of said L-shaped groove each forming an acuteangle with the horizontal so that in closing the door a bolt on the doormay enter said first leg portion in said first posi-' tion and may ridealong said first leg portion rotating said rotary member against saidspring means and then be caught behind said second leg portion.

4. A door latch keeper positioned in a jamb adjacent the closing edgeportion of a door, comprising: a rotary locking member journaled in saidjamb to rotate about an axis extending laterally of said jamb, saidrotary member having an L-shaped locking recess in its face formingfirst and second leg recess portions and means biasing said rotarymember toward a first position, said first leg portion of said L-shapedrecess forming an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the jamb sothat in closing a bolt on the door may enter said first leg portion insaid first position and may ride along said first leg portion rotatingsaid rotary member against said means and then be caught behind saidsecond leg portion of the L-shaped recess.

5. A door latch keeper positioned in one of the two abutting membersconsisting of the closing edge portion of a door member and the abuttingadjacent jamb, comprising: a rotary locking member journaled in a firstof said abutting members to rotate about its axis, said rotary memberhaving an L-shaped locking recess in its face forming first and secondleg recess portions and spring means biasing said rotary member toward afirst position, said rotary member and said leg portions of saidL-shapcd recess being positioned so that in closing said door a bolt onthe second of said abutting members may ride along said first legportion rotating said rotary member against said spring means and thenbe caught behind said second leg portion.

6. A door latch keeper positioned in a jamb adjacent the closing in edgeportion of a door, comprising: a locking member positioned in said jamb,said locking member having an L-shaped locking groove in its faceforming first and second leg groove portions and the portion of saidlocking member having said groove being movable substantially verticallyand spring means biasing said locking member toward a first position,said first and second leg portions of said L-shaped groove each formingan acute angle with the horizontal so that in closing a bolt on saiddoor may enter said first leg portion in said first position and mayride therealong moving said locking member against the force of saidspring means and then be caught behind said second leg portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS611,790 Miltier Oct. 4, 1898 1,070,580 Breithaupt Aug. 19, 19131,459,701 Willis June 19, 1923 1,558,980 Halinka Oct. 27, 1925 1,572,293Judge Feb. 9, 1926 1,991,822 Snipes Feb. 19, 1935 2,113,747 Roedding eta1. Apr. 12, 1938 2,616,739 Allen Nov. 4, 1952 2,647,781 Craig Aug. 4,1953

